


Science Fiction Backlog Blues

by Muccamukk



Category: Avengers (Comics), Marvel 616
Genre: Avengers Vol. 1 (1963), Books, Captain America: Man Out of Time, Fluff, Identity Porn, M/M, Tony Stark is also a giant Nerd, Unresolved Sexual Tension, steve rogers is a giant nerd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-06-23 13:13:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19702081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Muccamukk/pseuds/Muccamukk
Summary: Iron Man finds Steve moping in the library.





	Science Fiction Backlog Blues

**Author's Note:**

> Set loosely in "Man Out of Time"/Early 616 moved to the 21st century verse. Written for Cap/Iron Man 616 Bingo prompt: Library Meetings.

Tony was just coming off monitor duty when he saw a light on in the library. He placed the mental odds of it being Jarvis versus it being Captain America at about one to five in Cap's favour. Tony hadn't run into him on previous nights, but Jarvis had worriedly reported him haunting the halls at all hours.

Tony probably should have hesitated for a moment, at least to make a show of wanting to respect Cap's privacy, but he just walked in, armour clanking as he went. Cap was already looking up from his book when he came in the door.

He was sitting in Tony's favourite chair by the fireplace unlit in July, hair tousled, top three buttons of his blue and white striped pyjamas undone. He had a book in his lap, held half open so that Tony couldn't see what it was.

"Checking up on me, Shell-head?" Steve asked.

"Just coming off duty," Tony replied. Steve raised an eyebrow—in the lamplight, his hair really was golden. "And checking up on you."

Steve shook his head but smiled a little. "I'm doing all right."

Tony would have shrugged, but he'd finally gotten used to the armour not telegraphing his body language. He sat down in the chair across from Cap. "Doesn't mean I can't ask how your day went."

A sigh. Another shake of the head. Clearly Cap wasn't actually all right and didn't want to talk about his day.

"What you reading?" Tony asked instead.

"Oh," Steve said, and held up the cover for Tony to see: The Year's Best Science Fiction. "I'm trying to take Tone—I mean Mr. Stark's advice and learn to like the twenty first century, but..." Steve bit his lip, and Tony tried not to picture kissing it.

"Mr. Stark doesn't always have the best advice," Tony said, trying for sympathetic and supportive. Too bad the armour distorted his voice so much. Getting feelings across from inside this thing was worse than texting. Maybe he should get his helmet to display emoji.

Steve's jaw tightened and he gripped the book tighter. "No, he's right," he insisted. "I need to move on. It's just I... I don't really understand these stories? Or not all of them. I feel like I'm only hearing a third of the conversation, and not all of it's in English. I used to love science fiction."

Tony reached out for the book—something Steve must have bought, not one of the stately library volumes. He had trouble with the pages though his gauntlets but got it open to the contents eventually. It was a wall of unfamiliar names, and he'd been into science fiction as a teenager. "I'm lost too," he admitted. "Can't seem to find the time for books, or much of anything fun."

That made Steve blush and look away for a moment, and Tony wasn't sure what he'd said that would have that effect.

"I guess," Steve said, "I guess maybe I'll try backtracking, split the difference and start in the 1970s or something." He sighed, looking overwhelmed and unhappy.

There was a lot Tony would do to take that look away, including giving up half his free time. "Say, Wing-head," he said, holding the book out to Cap, "why don't we make a book club?"

"You mean the whole team?" Steve asked, and for a moment they both paused to consider Thor reading Amazing Stories.

"Well," Tony tried to figure out if there was a way to backtrack, but there wasn't really, "if you like. I'd been thinking just the two of us, like this. We can both catch up on our reading."

"Really?" Steve was starting to smile, which was rare enough—even since he'd come back from the road trip—that Tony felt like he'd won a prize. "Do you think Mr. Stark would like to join too?"

"Um..." For a moment he dithered between wanting Steve to get to know him better under his real name, and wanting more of the easy comradeship they had between them in the team. He concluded that it would look strange for Iron Man to suggest something and then fob it off onto his employer. "I don't think Mr. Stark would have time."

"Oh." The smile faltered but then brightened again. "Guess we'll have to muddle through together then, huh? How much do you think you'd have time for?"

Muddling through sounded about right to Tony, and he couldn't see too many ways forward that weren't going to lead to trouble. Someday, he was going to figure out how to resist a gorgeous smile combined with a pair of pretty blue eyes. "As much time as you like, Cap."


End file.
